Wireless data capture and sharing system, such as image capture and sharing of digital camera images via a wireless cellular network

ABSTRACT

Described in detail herein are systems and methods for allowing a wireless telecommunications device, such as a cell phone, to wirelessly receive and transmit digital content, such as digital images from a camcorder. Further, the wireless telecommunications device can wirelessly command a digital content capture device. Further, a card may be inserted into a digital content capture device to permit the device to wirelessly send digital content. Further details and features are described herein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to the assignee's concurrently filed U.S.application Ser. No. ______, entitled “WIRELESS DATA CAPTURE AND SHARINGSYSTEM, SUCH AS IMAGE CAPTURE AND SHARING OF DIGITAL CAMERA IMAGES VIA AWIRELESS CELLULAR NETWORK AND RELATED TAGGING OF IMAGES” (AttorneyDocket No. 31419.8063).

BACKGROUND

Digital image capture devices, such as digital cameras or camera phones,are ubiquitous. However, billions of digital photographs are “trapped”each year on cameras or personal computers as consumers struggle toshare those photos with others. Some web sites have become available toallow users to share their photos, such as Flickr, Picasa, KodakGallery, and so forth. These sites, however, require a user to take aset of photos, download them to a personal computer, upload them to aphoto-sharing web site, and then provide a notification (such as anemail) and authorization for third parties to access and view thosephotos.

Backwards compatible Secured Digital Input/Output cards (SDIO cards) arenow available to help in the photo-sharing process. For example, theEye-Fi card is an SDIO card that includes semiconductor memory and aIEEE802.11 radio. The card may be inserted into a camera, where imagestaken by the camera are stored on the card. The radio on the card thenallows the user to wirelessly transmit these images to a user's personalcomputer or web site.

One problem with such a card is that it may be difficult to implement,particularly for users very inexperienced with computers or digitalequipment. Further, a user must ensure that her digital camera canaccept a particular memory card. Moreover, the user must have a personalcomputer and be sufficiently knowledgeable in use of that computer inorder to use the card. Thus, the ability to serve a variety of people orequipment, tag images, or otherwise manage images is needed.

The need exists for a system that overcomes the above problems, as wellas one that provides additional benefits. Overall, the examples hereinof some prior or related systems and their associated limitations areintended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations ofexisting or prior systems will become apparent to those of skill in theart upon reading the following Detailed Description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating a suitable implementation ofaspects of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a camera wirelessly linked with amobile phone.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for wirelessly routingimages from a camera, through the mobile phone, to a network location.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a memory card with wirelesscapabilities and associated software.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for wirelessly routingimages from the camera using a “prepaid wireless card”.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating use of the phone of FIG. 2 towirelessly control the camera.

FIG. 7 is a representative screenshot illustrating a graphical userinterface to manage the handling of digital images under the system ofFIG. 1.

The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do notnecessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed invention.

In the drawings, the same reference numbers and any acronyms identifyelements or acts with the same or similar structure or functionality forease of understanding and convenience. To easily identify the discussionof any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digitsin a reference number refer to the Figure number in which that elementis first introduced (e.g., element 204 is first introduced and discussedwith respect to FIG. 2).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As described herein, a system permits the sharing of digital content,such as digital images, using a wireless mobile device operating withina wireless network. The wireless device automatically receives capturedimages under a short-range wireless protocol. The wireless device islogically associated (e.g., “paired”) with a digital content capturedevice (e.g., digital camera). The wireless device may automaticallyforward the digital content (e.g., digital image files) to apredetermined network destination (e.g., a URL) without contemporaneoushuman interaction with the wireless mobile device.

A mobile telecommunications device, such as a cellular phone, a wirelessvoice-over-IP (VoIP) phone, or a card with embedded radiotelecommunications capabilities, may be prepackaged and sold togetherwith a digital content capture device, such as a digital still or videocamera, with the two being paired together using a short-range wirelessprotocol, e.g., Bluetooth. In the case of a digital still or videocamera, the camera may obtain higher quality digital images from thedigital camera and route them to a predetermined network address, suchas a website or web page associated with a user. Data regarding theuser, including a specific URL or network address, may be obtained atthe point-of-sale.

Also described is an article of manufacture configured to route digitalcontent over a wireless network. The article of manufacture includes aprocessor, memory, wireless transceiver and stored instructions, allcarried on a carrying member or card sized to be received in a memorycard slot of, e.g., a digital camera. The instructions can provideauthorization for the card to transfer images to a wireless network(e.g., a cellular network), and/or be associated with prepaidauthorization to access or use data services of the network.

Furthermore, described in detail below is a system that permits thewireless telecommunications device to wirelessly receive digital data,such a digital image files, obtained from a digital capture device, suchas a digital camera or digital camcorder, and to provide user-inputcommands back to the digital capture device. These commands may, forinstance, instruct the camera/camcorder to modify an image, delete animage, identify a network address to route the image, etc.

Various examples of the invention will now be described. The followingdescription provides specific details for a thorough understanding andenabling description of these examples. One skilled in the relevant artwill understand, however, that the invention may be practiced withoutmany of these details. Likewise, one skilled in the relevant art willalso understand that the invention may include other obvious featuresnot described in detail herein. Additionally, some well-known structuresor functions may not be shown or described in detail below, so as toavoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description.

The terminology used below is to be interpreted in its broadestreasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with adetailed description of certain specific examples of the invention.Indeed, certain terms may even be emphasized below; however, anyterminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will beovertly and specifically defined as such in this Detailed Descriptionsection.

System Description

FIG. 1 and the following discussion provide a brief, general descriptionof a suitable environment in which the invention can be implemented.Although not required, aspects of the invention are described below inthe general context of computer-executable instructions, such asroutines executed by a general-purpose data processing device, e.g., aserver computer, wireless device or personal computer. Those skilled inthe relevant art will appreciate that the invention can be practicedwith other communications, data processing, or computer systemconfigurations, including: Internet appliances, hand-held devices(including personal digital assistants (PDAs)), wearable computers, allmanner of cellular or mobile phones, multi-processor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, set-topboxes, network PCs, mini-computers, mainframe computers, and the like.Indeed, the terms “computer,” “server,” and the like are generally usedinterchangeably herein, and refer to any of the above devices andsystems, as well as any data processor.

While aspects of the invention, such as certain functions, are describedas being performed exclusively on a single device, the invention canalso be practiced in distributed environments where functions or modulesare shared among disparate processing devices, which are linked througha communications network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide AreaNetwork (WAN), or the Internet. In a distributed computing environment,program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storagedevices.

Aspects of the invention may be stored or distributed oncomputer-readable media, including magnetically or optically readablecomputer discs, hard-wired or preprogrammed chips (e.g., EEPROMsemiconductor chips), nanotechnology memory, biological memory, or otherdata storage media. Indeed, computer implemented instructions, datastructures, screen displays, and other data under aspects of theinvention may be distributed over the Internet or over other networks(including wireless networks), on a propagated signal on a propagationmedium (e.g., an electromagnetic wave(s), a sound wave, etc.) over aperiod of time, or they may be provided on any analog or digital network(packet switched, circuit switched, or other scheme).

As shown in FIG. 1, a digital capture device, in this case a digitalcamera 102, is wirelessly connected to a wireless telecommunicationsdevice, in this case a cellular phone or smartphone 104. Likewise, acellular phone 106 is wirelessly connected to a video camera or othervideo-capture device 108. The phones 104, 106 in turn may wirelesslycommunicate with a network 110 via one or more cellular transceiver(s)or base station(s) 112 within a cellular telecommunications network orother wireless telecommunications network. The cellulartelecommunications network may operate at any known standard, such asGSM, CDMA, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, etc. While the term “phone” is used herein,any wireless telecommunications device capable of performing thefunctions described herein may be used.

Alternatively or additionally, a wireless telecommunications device,such as phone 104, may communicate with the network 110 via a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN), via a wireless access point (AP) or hotspot114. The wireless AP 114 may use any known wireless communicationprotocols, such as IEEE 802.11 or IEEE 802.16. The phone 104 cancommunicate with the network via the AP 114 via the Unlicensed MobileAccess (UMA) or the Generic Access network (GAN) protocol. The AP 114typically has a wireless range that is less than that of cellulartransceiver 112, but in some embodiments, for instance 802.16 or Wimax,the wireless range may be equal to or exceed that of cellulartransceiver 112.

As explained in more detail below, pictures or videos provided bycameras 102, 108 may be wirelessly transmitted to the network 110 viaphones 104, 106, where such phones effectively act as modems to passthrough the digital content. The network 110 may in turn route thecontent to a pre-determined location, such as one identified by aUniversal Resource Locator (URL). For example, the network may route theimages to a web server 116 determined by the user's wireless serviceprovider. The web server 116 in turn stores those images in a database118, as described below. Likewise, the content may be stored directly ina third party database 120 associated with a third party web server 122,rerouted to database 120 by web server 116, or forwarded directly and inreal-time by web server 116 or third party web server 122 to remotecontent recipients, such as by streaming audio/video to remotelocations.

As described in more detail below, the user may access the images storedin databases 118 or 120 via a personal computer 124. The images may alsobe displayed on an electronic picture frame 126 or a similar displaydevice, or accessed by a third party on a third party computer 128(typically when first authorized by the user). Likewise, the images maybe displayed on a third party mobile device 130, which may be on adifferent cellular network 132.

Phone-Camera Pair

Referring to FIG. 2, the camera 102 may be a standard digital camerathat includes optics and image capture electronics 202 and input/outputcomponents 204, all connected to communicate with one or more processorsoperating firmware 206. The input/output components may include variousbuttons or user controls, one or more display screens, audio inputand/or output devices, etc. As described more fully below, the cameramay also include a removable memory card that includes a wireless radio208. Of course, the camera may instead include a fixed wireless radio.The removable memory card is received within a card slot of the camera,and can be of a form and shape common to any known cards, such as SDcards, xD cards, PCMCIA cards, etc.

The camera 102 can wirelessly communicate directly or via radio card 208with a mobile telecommunications device, such as mobile phone 104, whichincludes one or more radios 210, memory and firmware 212 andinput/output components 214 that all communicate with one or moreprocessors 216. The radios can include a CDMA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE or UMTSradio, or prospective 4G technologies such as LTE, as well as a WLAN,and/or personal area network (PAN) radio, such as one employing IEEE802.11, Bluetooth or other wireless standards. In the example of FIGS. 1and 2, the camera and phone communicate with each other over ashort-range wireless link using any known short-range protocol. Suchshort-range protocol typically has a range of about 10-50 meters (oftenunder 100 meters), and includes Piconet protocols, including ZigBee,IrDA, and Ultra Wide Band (UWB).

The processors in the phone, the camera or both can include digitalsignal processors or other components for processing images,facilitating voice and data calls, as well as processors for performingactions described herein. The input/output components of the phone 104include a microphone, speaker, visual display, user input buttons, aswell as other components, such as a global positioning system (GPS), adigital camera, and so forth. While the phone 104 may have its owndigital camera, the camera 102 is typically designed specifically fortaking higher quality digital images, and thus may have a much higherresolution digital imager, better optics, and so forth. In GSMembodiments, both the phone 104 and the camera 102 may include aremovable card slot to receive a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) aswell as a removable memory card that may itself include a radio, asnoted herein.

Representative Process

Referring to FIG. 3, a routine 300 performed by the system in FIG. 1includes, in embodiments including a radio card 208, initially insertingthe radio card 208 into the camera 102 if the camera lacks a wirelesslink (block 302). The phone 104 then pairs itself with the radio card208, such as using standard Bluetooth pairing. If the camera 102 hasradio functionality, the phone 104 can pair with the camera 102directly. Indeed, the camera/radio card and phone may use any of variousBluetooth profiles, such as the Dial-Up Networking (DUN) or PersonalArea Network (PAN) profiles. As a result, the camera/radio card andphone are thereafter paired or linked so that secure communications maybe exchanged between the two (block 304). More importantly, the camera,using firmware stored in the camera or within the removable memory/radiocard 208, can automatically route digital pictures from the camera tothe network and elsewhere via the phone 104.

After receiving a captured image (block 306), the camera, via its radio,transmits the image to the phone 104 (block 308) either by pushing theimage to the phone or by responding to a phone request for the image.The phone and/or the camera may encapsulate network routing informationor address with the image. For example, the camera (or phone) may add aheader to the digital image to route the image to the user'spersonalized photo album at an Internet site or URL. Thus, the headercan take the form of, for example, “http://www.T-Mobile.com/My Album[user ID]”. The user ID may include any unique identifier for the user,such as the user's mobile identification number (MIN), InternationalMobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI), International Mobile EquipmentIdentifier (IMEI), Secret Serial Number (SSN), phone number, MediumAccess Control (MAC) address, Globally Unique Identifier (GUID), or anyother identifier.

Firmware in the radio card 208 of the camera 102, or in memory 212 ofthe phone 104, can include a preprogrammed address, as well asinstructions, for transmitting the digital image. The address can be aTCP/IP address, with a place for the user, wireless service provider, orother to insert the user's specific identifier. There may also beprovisioning for the user, service provider, or other to insert aspectsof the address.

The phone routes the image via a selected network (block 310), which caninclude a cellular telephone network (like CDMA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE orUMTS, or prospective networks such as LTE), or via a local area networkemploying IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth or other wireless standards. The phonemay select the best or preferred network based on any of a variety ofcriteria, such as availability, signal strength, data transmission cost,and so forth. Indeed, the system can use any type of protocol ortransport mechanism, including the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP),Multimedia Message Service (MMS), HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP),and so forth. Once received by the network 110, the network routes theimages to the specified destination, such as to the web server 116 forstorage and database 118 (block 312).

Overall, the image may be routed to any TCP/IP address, which thenetwork 110 then routes to the appropriate destination, such as webserver 116. A wireless telecommunications service provider may provide aweb site for the user and is typically a media gateway to enable usersto manage their photos from a central location. The web server acts asan intelligent intermediary for the digital image gateway and usermanipulation of photos. As explained herein, the web server 116 may thenin turn relay one or more received images to a third party web server122. Such third party web servers may be any of various image storingand sharing sites, including Flickr, Facebook, and Picasa. The user canthen go to the one or more web sites to access and manage his or herphotos, as described herein.

Radio Card

Referring to FIG. 4, the card 208 in the camera 102 may include a radioor wireless transceiver 402, semiconductor memory 404 and firmware 406,all carried or secured to some substantially rigid substrate or othermember. As noted above, the radio can be of any form, but in thisexample is a Bluetooth radio. Alternatively or additionally, the radiocan be configured to operate using other protocols, including morepowerful protocols such as GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS or CDMA, or prospectiveprotocols like LTE. If a GSM or related protocol, the camera 102 mayinclude, either stored in the memory 404 or elsewhere on the camera, ahardware or software SIM 410 to permit communications over the relevantnetwork. The camera thus acts like a phone on the network, even if it isnot configured for voice communications. The camera nevertheless canprovide for real time communications, including photo-sharing, asdescribed herein.

The memory 404 can be any semiconductor memory to permit the storing ofphotos. Notably, this memory need not be as large as is typical withdigital camera memory, because the camera need not store images locally.Instead, with the wireless link, the camera can store photos elsewhere,such as in databases 118 or 120. The memory 404, if implemented, simplyacts more like a buffer. If not implemented, the card 208 acts as atransceiver for transmitting captured content (in this case, digitalimages) in real time to the phone 104.

The firmware 406 includes instructions performed by processor 408 topermit the camera to automatically and wirelessly send digital content.When the card 208 is inserted in the camera 102, the camera 102 simplyrecognizes it as a memory card. However, whenever images are stored inthe memory 404, the processor 408, operating on instructions stored inthe firmware 406, transfers images from the memory to the phone 104 whenthe phone 104 is paired to and within range of the card 208. As notedabove, the firmware includes an address that the processor includes witheach image so that the image is routed appropriately via the network110.

The card 208 may be sold independently of a camera or other digitalcapture device. Indeed, it may be sold as a “prepaid card”, where a usercan buy such a digital memory card that could be analogized to adisposable camera with prepaid wireless service. The user simply insertsthe card 208 into a digital capture device and then automatically senddigital content to one or more destinations. For example, the user maypurchase the card at a retail location, where the card includes a CDMA,GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS radio, or other radio, and (in GSM embodiments) asoftware SIM. The card may be activated at the point-of-sale, or mayemploy over-the-air activation when inserted into a digital capturedevice and powered up, where customer data may be gathered at the timeof sale or soon thereafter (as described below). The user would takepictures, and those pictures would be transferred over a network to adatabase previously established and associated with that card. The userwould then log onto the web server 116 to access the images in thedatabase 118, such as by using a personal identification number (PIN),password, or other information that may be provide at the point-of-sale,obtained from a scratch-off card, and so forth.

Further, the user can access a predefined network location (accessiblevia the Internet) to rename his or her content home page (e.g., changingit from some arbitrary, but unique, numeric value, to one morepersonalized to the user's tastes, like“www.T-Mobile.com/MyPhotos/00124758” to“www.T-Mobile.com/MyPhotos/Chrissy's RomePictures”). Of course, thedigital content can also be transferred or copied to another site, evento the user's home computer.

Notably, the card 208 has a prepaid wireless data service associatedwith it to permit the transfer of images over the network to apredefined URL. The card may be associated with a particular wirelessservice provider, and thus the digital capture device can only transfercontent when within range of that service provider's wireless network.

Alternatively or additionally, the card may be usable with any serviceprovider operating a compatible network (when the card has a radiocompatible with the alternate service provider). In this instance, athird party may sell the card and enter into agreements with wirelessservice providers in the geographic area in which sales have occurred.Then, during over-the-air activation that may occur when the card isinserted into the camera and powered up, the card's radio becomesactivated on the first contacted network (e.g., strongest receivedsignal). The card 208 may include a unique identifier that the wirelessservice provider then provides to the third party so that it may receiveappropriate compensation or billing from that third party based on thesale. Of course, other arrangements are possible. Overall, thisalternative of a prepaid wireless data service card allows users toavoid often more expensive roaming charges if they will be roaming andtaking photos in another country.

Referring to FIG. 5, a routine 500 illustrates an example of how such acard may be used. Beginning block 502, customer data is gathered at thepoint of sale, as noted herein. Alternatively or additionally, customerdata may be input over the network by a personal computer accessed bythe user. In block 504, this input data is then used to update adatabase record that associates the card with a particular user (FIG.7). As noted below, the user may be different from the purchaser.

Thereafter, the routine 500 continues in blocks 302 and 306 as describedabove. In block 506, images taken by the camera 102 may be routeddirectly from the cell site transceiver 112 and from (in this example),the network to an IP network. Then, the IP network subsequently routesthe image to a predetermined or specified logical or network address(e.g., URL) for storage in the database 118. In this example, images arerouted directly from the camera 102 for storage in the database, via oneor more networks 110; alternatively or additionally, such images may berouted through the phone 104. Alternatively or additionally, whiledescribed above as using a cellular network, the card 102 may likewisepermit transfer of digital images using a WLAN via AP 114, with the cardhaving a WLAN radio and prepaid wireless access over the WLAN.

The phone 104 and camera/card 102 of FIG. 2 may be packaged together forretail sale, where the phone and camera are configured forout-of-the-box operation with little to no user configuration. Thecamera and phone unit may, of course, include easy-to-followinstructions, a CD or other computer-readable medium for allowing theuser to receive a wizard or simple walk-through menus to set up thecamera-phone pair (including designating a particular URL to whichimages are to be sent), and so forth. The camera-phone unit may includea single stock-keeping unit (SKU).

In this example, the camera/card and phone are previously configuredbefore or at sale such that their two wireless Bluetooth radiosrecognize the existence of each other's Bluetooth address. When thepackage is sold at a retail point-of-sale location, a customer servicerepresentative or salesperson gathers relevant information from thepurchaser, which is then used to initiate wireless service of the phone.The gathered information is combined with other previously programmedinformation of the devices, so that a single record is created. Therecord, which may be stored in the database 118, can include thefollowing fields:

Field Value IMEI/IMSI Integer MIN Integer MAC Integer First NameAlphanumeric Last Name Alphanumeric Street Address Alphanumeric CityAlphanumeric State Alphanumeric Postal Code Alphanumeric Billing NameAlphanumeric Billing Street Address Alphanumeric Billing CityAlphanumeric Billing State Alphanumeric Billing Postal Code AlphanumericEmail Address Alphanumeric User Image/Background Image File InstantMessaging Handle Alphanumeric User Name Alias Alphanumeric Phone ModelNumber Alphanumeric Camera MAC Address Integer Camera Model IDAlphanumeric Photo Web Site URL Alphanumeric Billing Plan Alphanumeric

As shown above, the purchaser of the camera/card-phone package can setup a billing address for a data plan associated with the digital imagesharing that differs from that of a user of the package. Further, thepurchaser can also establish a specific URL or location to which theimages should be routed. This address can replace anything previouslyprogrammed in the camera/card or phone, such as during over-the-airactivation when the phone and camera/card are first powered up. Thus,for example, a grandparent may purchase the phone and camera/cardcombination as a gift for a child, so that the child can in turn takepictures of a grandchild and have those pictures automatically sent to aweb site designated by the grandparent or to a frame location. A specialvoice plan and data plan may likewise be established so that thegrandparent pays for some or all of one or both plans. These plans, ofcourse, can change over time, have a time limit, and so forth.

Remote Control of Camera Via Phone

Referring to FIG. 6, a routine 600 for illustrating how the phone 104can control the camera 102 is shown. Many phones include a userinterface that is much more robust than that provided on typical digitalcameras. Therefore, using the wireless link between the camera andphone, the phone can control aspects of the camera. This may be donethrough the use of application programming interfaces (APIs) madeavailable to the phone by the camera, whereby the phone can accesssoftware controls of the camera and otherwise control the cameraremotely.

The routine 600 begins by pairing the phone with the camera andreceiving an image at the phone from the camera under blocks 304 and306, as described above. In block 602, an image taken by the camera maybe viewed on the phone. This may be particularly useful when the visualdisplay on the phone is larger than that of the camera. In block 604,the user can decide whether to keep the image. If the image is kept,then in block 606, the user can determine whether to modify the image.If the user decides to modify the image, then the phone provides accessto one or more menus that permit the user to modify the image, such asby changing various attributes of the image (contrast, intensity,sharpness, etc.), applying effects to the image (e.g., red-eyereduction, sepia tones, etc.) and so forth (block 608).

In block 610, the phone may permit the user to change the defaultrouting for the image. For example, the user can, in block 612, select anew destination of the image from a list of available URLs or othernetwork addresses stored on the phone, or permit the user to input a newaddress. Some phones, particularly smart phones, may include a fullalphanumeric keyboard, which can permit much easier user input of a longURL or other network address.

Web Interface for Managing Photos

Referring to FIG. 7, an example of a web page or screenshot 700 is shownthat provides a graphical user interface for users to manage theirimages. As shown, a link 702 permits a user to set up a new rule forrouting pictures, where the link accesses another page (not shown) forproviding the user with the ability to adjust or modify detailsregarding automatic routing for images. However, the screen 700 providessome more common routing features, such as allowing a user to access alist of common metadata tags associated with images from a dropdown list704 (e.g., date/time tags, location tags, etc.), and have images sotagged to be automatically routed to a specific logical address that maybe inserted in box 706.

The user can change the default destination for his or her pictures byaccessing a hyperlink 708 that in turn displays a page (not shown) forproviding details on a new destination. However, the page 700, forconvenience, provides a simple box 710 to allow the user to change thedefault destination, as noted herein. Likewise, a manage pictures link712 allows access to a screen or page (not shown) for displaying manyoptions to allow the user to manage pictures. However, the page 700provides easy access to at least two simple and common management tools,namely the ability to create and name a new album in box 714, or toroute an album via box 716. For example, the user may create a newalbum, insert pictures into that album, and then route the album to adesignated location, such as a Facebook or MySpace page.

Conclusion

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,”“coupled,” or any variant thereof means any connection or coupling,either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling orconnection between the elements can be physical, logical, or acombination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,”and words of similar import, when used in this application, refer tothis application as a whole and not to any particular portions of thisapplication. Where the context permits, words in the above DetailedDescription using the singular or plural number may also include theplural or singular number respectively. The word “or,” in reference to alist of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretationsof the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list,and any combination of the items in the list.

The above Detailed Description of examples of the invention is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific examples for the invention are describedabove for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications arepossible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in therelevant art will recognize. For example, while aspects of the inventionare described above with respect to capturing and routing digitalimages, any other digital content may likewise be managed or handled bythe system provided herein, including video files, audio files, and soforth. While processes or blocks are presented in a given order,alternative implementations may perform routines having steps, or employsystems having blocks, in a different order, and some processes orblocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/ormodified to provide alternative or subcombinations. Each of theseprocesses or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways.Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed inseries, these processes or blocks may instead be performed orimplemented in parallel, or may be performed at different times. Furtherany specific numbers noted herein are only examples: alternativeimplementations may employ differing values or ranges.

The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements andacts of the various examples described above can be combined to providefurther implementations of the invention.

Any patents and applications and other references noted above, includingany that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporatedherein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the variousreferences described above to provide yet further implementations of theinvention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of theabove Detailed Description. While the above description describescertain examples of the invention, and describes the best modecontemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, theinvention can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may varyconsiderably in its specific implementation, while still beingencompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above,particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspectsof the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology isbeing redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics,features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology isassociated. In general, the terms used in the following claims shouldnot be construed to limit the invention to the specific examplesdisclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Descriptionsection explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope ofthe invention encompasses not only the disclosed examples, but also allequivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under theclaims.

While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certainclaim forms, the applicant contemplates the various aspects of theinvention in any number of claim forms. For example, while only oneaspect of the invention is recited as a means-plus-function claim under35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, other aspects may likewise be embodiedas a means-plus-function claim, or in other forms, such as beingembodied in a computer-readable medium. (Any claims intended to betreated under 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶ 6 will begin with the words “meansfor”.) Accordingly, the applicant reserves the right to add additionalclaims after filing the application to pursue such additional claimforms for other aspects of the invention.

1. A digital content sharing system, wherein the digital content sharingsystem may be used with a cellular telecommunications network and aInternet Protocol (IP) based computer network, the system comprising: adigital image capture apparatus comprising: optics and image capturecircuitry, image capture input and output components, a short-rangewireless transceiver, and at least one image capture processor coupledto communicate with the optics and image capture circuitry, the imagecapture input and output components, and the short-range wirelesstransceiver, and a first hand-held housing for carrying the optics andimage capture circuitry, the image capture input and output components,the short-range wireless transceiver, and the at least one image captureprocessor; and, a mobile telecommunications device comprising: userinput and output components, a first wireless transceiver component forcommunicating with the short-range wireless transceiver; a secondwireless transceiver component for communicating with the cellulartelecommunications network, at least one processor coupled tocommunicate with the user input and output components, the firstwireless transceiver component, and the second wireless transceivercomponent, and a second hand-held housing, separate from the firsthousing, for carrying the user input and output components, the firstwireless transceiver component, the second wireless transceivercomponent, and the at least one processor; wherein the cellulartelecommunications network has a range greater than that of theshort-range wireless transceiver, wherein the digital image captureapparatus is configured to capture a digital image via the optics andimage capture circuitry, and to forward the captured digital imagedirectly to the mobile telecommunications device via the short-rangewireless transceiver, and wherein the mobile telecommunications deviceis configured to receive the captured digital image via the firstwireless transceiver component, and to forward the captured digitalimage to the cellular telecommunications network via the second wirelesstransceiver component, wherein the cellular telecommunications networkin turn forwards the captured digital image to a designated networkaddress on the IP based computer network.
 2. The digital content sharingsystem of claim 1, wherein the digital image capture apparatus is adigital camera, wherein the short-range wireless transceiver is formedon a removable card received within a memory card slot of the digitalcamera, and wherein the short-range wireless transceiver includes aBluetooth radio, and wherein the mobile telecommunications device is acell phone, wherein the first wireless transceiver component includes aBluetooth radio paired to the digital camera's Bluetooth radio, whereinthe network address is a universal resource locator (URL), and whereinthe IP based computer network is the World Wide Web.
 3. The digitalcontent sharing system of claim 1, wherein the digital image captureapparatus and the mobile telecommunications device are packaged togetheras a single unit, and wherein the digital image capture apparatus andthe mobile telecommunications device are preconfigured as logicallypaired together to exchange communications.
 4. The digital contentsharing system of claim 1, wherein the digital image capture apparatusis a digital camera configured to capture still images, video images, orboth, wherein the mobile telecommunications device is a cellular phonehaving an integrated digital camera, and wherein the digital cameraproduces higher resolution or higher quality images than the cellularphone's digital camera.
 5. A method of sharing digital content using awireless telecommunications device, wherein the wirelesstelecommunications device operates on a wireless telecommunicationsnetwork, the method comprising: at the wireless telecommunicationsdevice, automatically and directly receiving captured digital contentusing a short-range wireless protocol, wherein the wirelesstelecommunications device is logically associated with a digital contentcapture device that is in wireless range of the wireless mobile deviceunder the short-range wireless protocol, and, automatically forwardingthe digital content, using the wireless telecommunications device, to apredetermined network destination, wherein the forwarding is done usingthe wireless telecommunications network and without contemporaneoushuman interaction with the wireless telecommunications device, andwherein the predetermined network destination is associated with a userof the wireless telecommunications device.
 6. The method of claim 5wherein the wireless telecommunications network is a cellulartelecommunications network, wherein the telecommunications device is acellular phone, wherein the digital content is a digital photo capturedvia a digital camera, wherein the short-range wireless protocol is theBluetooth protocol, and wherein the predetermined network destination isaccessible over a TCP/IP network via a Universal Resource Locator (URL).7. The method of claim 5, further comprising: pairing the wirelesstelecommunications device with a digital camera under the Bluetoothprotocol; and, employing the Dial-Up Networking (DUN) or Personal AreaNetwork (PAN) profile under the Bluetooth protocol to receive thedigital content at the wireless telecommunications device from thedigital camera.
 8. The method of claim 5, further comprising: detectingmultiple wireless networks, wherein the wireless networks include thewireless telecommunications network and a wireless local area network(WLAN); and, automatically forwarding the digital content via the WLAN.9. The method of claim 5 wherein the predetermined network location isassociated with an electronic picture frame.
 10. The method of claim 5wherein the predetermined network location comprises encapsulating alogical network address with the digital content, and wherein thelogical address is associated with a web page for the user and relatedto an operator of the wireless telecommunications network.
 11. Themethod of claim 5 wherein the digital content comprises an audio file.12. The method of claim 5 wherein the automatically forwarding includesadding a user identifier, wherein the user identifier comprises: amobile identification number (MIN), International Mobile SubscriberIdentifier (IMSI), International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI),Secret Serial Number (SSN), phone number, Medium Access Control (MAC)address, or Globally Unique Identifier (GUID).
 13. The method of claim5, wherein the wireless telecommunications network is an IP-basedwireless telecommunications network.
 14. The method of claim 5, whereinthe short-range wireless protocol differs from a protocol used withinthe wireless network.
 15. An apparatus configured for sharing digitalcontent within a wireless network, the apparatus comprising: means forlogically associating with a digital content capture device, wherein thedigital content capture device is within wireless range under ashort-range wireless protocol; means for automatically receivingcaptured digital content using the short-range wireless protocol; and,means for automatically forwarding the digital content to apredetermined network destination, wherein the means for forwardingemploys the wireless network, and wherein the predetermined networkdestination is associated with a user of the apparatus.
 16. A method ofrouting still digital images, moving digital images, or both, within awireless network, the method comprising: receiving a wirelesstransceiver card, wherein the wireless transceiver card includes aprocessor, a wireless transceiver, and instructions executed by theprocessor for wirelessly transmitting digital images to a predeterminednetwork address via the wireless transceiver, wherein the wirelesstransceiver card is configured to be received within a memory card slotof a digital camera or digital video camera and is configured to berecognized by the digital camera or digital video recorder as a memorycard to receive digital images for storage, and, wherein the wirelesstransceiver employs at least one protocol compatible with a protocolemployed by the wireless network; and automatically forwarding digitalimages to the predetermined network address, via the wirelesstransceiver and the wireless network, wherein the wireless transceivercard is associated with prepaid authorization to access or use thewireless network.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the wirelessnetwork is a wireless telephone network, and wherein the wirelesstransceiver of the wireless transceiver card includes at least one of aGSM radio, a GPRS radio, an EDGE radio, a UMTS radio, an LTE radio, an802.11 radio, an 802.16 radio, and a CDMA radio.
 18. The method of claim16, further comprising receiving customer data during or after purchaseof the wireless transceiver card, wherein the customer differs from auser of the wireless transceiver card, wherein the customer dataincludes obtaining a billing address for the customer that differs froma billing address of the user, and wherein the customer data furtherincludes a new predetermined network address that replaces thepredetermined network address.
 19. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising receiving customer data during or after purchase of thewireless transceiver card.
 20. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising performing or receiving over-the-air activation of thewireless transceiver card with the wireless network during or afterinitial power up of the wireless transceiver card, wherein the wirelessnetwork is a wireless telephone network, and wherein the wirelesstransceiver card includes identification information to authorize accessto the wireless network.
 21. The method of claim 16 wherein the wirelesstransceiver card incorporates a semiconductor memory for at leasttemporarily storing the digital images captured by the digital camera ordigital video camera.
 22. An article of manufacture configured to route,via a wireless telecommunications network, still digital images, movingdigital images, or both, from a digital camera or digital camcorder, thearticle of manufacture comprising: a combined memory and wirelesstransceiver card, comprising: a processor, a semiconductor memory,wherein the memory includes a first memory portion for storing digitalimages, and a second memory portion for storing instructions, a wirelesstransceiver, wherein the wireless transceiver employs at least oneprotocol compatible with a protocol employed by the wirelesstelecommunications network, routing instructions stored in the secondmemory portion and executed by the processor to wirelessly transmitdigital images stored in the first memory portion to a predeterminednetwork address via the wireless transceiver, network instructionsstored in the second memory portion and executed by the processor topermit the wireless transceiver to communicate network identificationinformation to the wireless telecommunications network for authorizationby the wireless telecommunications network, and, a carrying member forcarrying the processor, memory and wireless transceiver, wherein thecarrying member is sized and configured to be received within a memorycard slot of the digital camera or digital camcorder and to beautomatically recognized as a memory card to receive digital images forstorage.
 23. The article of manufacture of claim 22 wherein thepredetermined network address is a TCP/IP-based URL.
 24. The article ofmanufacture of claim 22 wherein the network identification informationis associated with prepaid authorization to access or use data services,but not voice services, of the wireless telecommunications network. 25.The article of manufacture of claim 22 wherein the network instructionsinclude a software-based Subscriber Identity Module (SIM).
 26. Anarticle of manufacture configured to route, via a wireless network,digital content from a digital content capture device, the article ofmanufacture comprising: a combined memory and wireless transceiver card,comprising: a processor, a memory, a wireless transceiver, wherein thewireless transceiver employs at least one protocol compatible with aprotocol employed by the wireless network, first instructions stored inthe memory and executed by the processor to wirelessly transmit digitalimages stored in the memory via the wireless transceiver, secondinstructions stored in the second memory portion and executed by theprocessor to permit the wireless transceiver to communicateidentification information to the wireless network for authorization touse or access the wireless network, wherein the identificationinformation is associated with prepaid authorization to access or usedata services of the wireless network, and, a carrying member forcarrying the processor, memory and wireless transceiver, wherein thecarrying member is sized and configured to be received within a memorycard slot of the digital content capture device and to be recognized asa memory card to receive digital content for storage.
 27. The article ofmanufacture of claim 26 wherein the wireless network is a GSM, GPRS,EDGE, UMTS, LTE or CDMA-based cellular network and wherein the wirelesstransceiver and second instructions are configured to permit exchange ofdata via the cellular network.
 28. An article of manufacture, whereinthe article of manufacture comprises a computer-readable medium carryinginstructions for use by a wireless telecommunications device, whereinthe instructions, when executed by the wireless telecommunicationsdevice permit the device to perform a method, the method comprising:wirelessly receiving at the wireless telecommunications device stilldigital images, moving digital images, or both, directly from a digitalcamera or digital camcorder; displaying the received images at thewireless telecommunications device; receiving at the wirelesstelecommunications device at least one user-input command affecting atleast one of the received digital images; and, wirelessly transmittingto the digital camera or digital camcorder, from the wirelesstelecommunications device, the user-input command, wherein the digitalcamera or digital camcorder in turn performs locally at the digitalcamera or digital camcorder the transmitted user-input command from thewireless telecommunications device.
 29. The article of manufacture ofclaim 28 wherein the wireless telecommunications device is a cellularphone, wherein the cellular phone is configured to communicate with botha cellular network using a longer range cellular network protocol andwith the digital camera or digital camcorder using a shorter rangewireless protocol, and wherein the wirelessly transmitting includeswirelessly transmitting to the digital camera or digital camcorder theuser-input command using the shorter range wireless protocol.
 30. Thearticle of manufacture of claim 28 wherein the user-input command is acommand to modify or delete at least one of the received digital imagesat the digital camera or digital camcorder.
 31. The article ofmanufacture of claim 28, further comprising wirelessly transmitting atleast one received digital image to a wireless network, and wherein theuser-input command includes inputting a new network address for routingthe at least one digital image.